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Britons no longer advised to avoid travelling to Tunisia

The Foreign Office had advised against travelling to the country after the Sousse resort massacre in which 30 Britons were killed.

Wednesday 26 July 2017 17:52, UK

Tourists and Tunisians take part in a ceremony on July 3, 2015, in memory of those killed the previous week by a jihadist gunman in front of the Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel in Port el Kantaoui, on the outskirts of Sousse south of the capital Tunis. Tunisia has arrested eight people in connection with last week's jihadist massacre at the seaside resort, as the remains of more slain Britons were flown home on July 2
Image: Thirty Britons were killed when a gunman shot people on the beach and in hotel grounds
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Britain is no longer advising against travel to most of Tunisia, including Tunis and other major tourist destinations, the Foreign Office has said.

The Government had advised against all but essential visits to the country after the beach attack in the resort of Sousse, where a gunman killed 30 Britons - and 38 in all - in 2015.

The FCO said it had now withdrawn the advice for the capital and major tourist resorts.

But it continued to caution against "all travel" and "all but essential travel" to some areas of the country, including those nearer the Libyan border.

A total of 38 people were shot dead by the gunman in Sousse in 2015
Image: Thirty-eight people died in the attack

The revision means UK tour operators can resume selling holidays in Tunisia for the first time since the Sousse attack.

"This update reflects our latest assessment that the risk to British nationals in Tunisia has changed," said Alistair Burt, Minister for the Middle East and North Africa.

"This is in part due to the security improvements that the Tunisian authorities and tourist industry have made since the tragic terrorist attacks in 2015, with support from the UK and international partners."

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The FCO said it has kept its assessment of the risks of British nationals travelling to Tunisia "under constant review" since the Sousse attack.

"Whilst we are changing advice against all but essential travel in most of Tunisia, there remain real risks for British nationals and I recommend people read our travel advice before planning their travel," said Mr Burt.

In 2014, some 440,000 people from the UK visited Tunisia, according to the Office for National Statistics. Demand also went up the year before the Sousse attack.

The Islamic State terror group said it was behind Seifeddine Rezgui's attack.

Seifeddine Rezgui carried out the attack
Image: Seifeddine Rezgui carried out the massacre

Travel industry operators welcomed the change of travel advice and said they would assess if and how to resume services in the country.

A Thomas Cook spokesman said it was "pleased that the Foreign Office has taken this decision to open Tunisia back up to Brits".

It said it would assess "how and when we put this once-popular destination back on sale".

EasyJet described the decision on travel advice as "a step in the right direction towards the resumption of flights" but they "do not have any plans to change our schedule at present".

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